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“Le retour” for Burns’ biggest French fan

A FRENCHMAN proclaiming himself to be the reincarnation of Robert Burns has visited Annan for the second year running.

Pascal Belz feels a strong connection with the Bard and has been inspired to work on his own poetry whilst visiting local landmarks of Burns’ life.

Mr Belz said: “Whilst I am visiting this time I will be writing as much as I can and working on my skills.
“My poems are proof that I am Robert Burns, in my writing you can see similarities, the same ideas, same speech, but it is not copied, it is natural.”
Last year Pascal spent much of his time touring the various Robert Burns sites located in the region, but this year his poetry has come first.
He said: “I did not feel I needed to visit all these places, I know too much about them to spend time doing that, but I am sad that I will obviously miss these places.”
Looking to the future, Pascal hopes to publish a book in English for the people of the region.
He believes that when this book is published it will leave “no doubt” in people’s minds that that he is the true Robert Burns.
During his visits, he has dined with Avril Kerr, a keen local Burns poet and he said: “Avril is very lucky. I often visit her and have dinner with her to share my new work.”
The Breton native will be leaving the area this weekend to travel to Kilmarnock after being invited to perform a reading at a wreath laying.
Pascal said: “I hope after the reading they are touched by what I say and ask questions about me.
“Being Robert Burns changes everything, life and death changes and everyone’s understanding of that changes.”
He will return to France in two weeks, however he wishes that he could stay in Dumfries and Galloway, as he believes it was his original home.